When communicating through a cellular telephone, it is often desirable, for convenience and safety purposes, to utilize external speakers and microphones.
The external devices are connected to the cellular telephone either by wires or through wireless communication. These devices allow the user to communicate without having to hold the cellular telephone next to their ear, which would otherwise be necessary to allow the speaker and microphone to function properly. The user's hand, which would normally be used to hold the cellular telephone, is then free to be used for other tasks. It also prevents fatigue of the arm that can occur when holding a telephone for extended periods of time. Furthermore, it is safer because the user's coordination and focus are enhanced for alternative purposes. This is of particular concern when the user is performing sports or recreational activities that require the continuous use of both hands, e.g. snow skiing, biking, or motorcycle riding to name a few. Finally, there is concern over the safety of radio waves emitted by cellular phones when the phones are in close proximity to the head of a user. Thus, the cellular telephone can be moved away from the user's head, thereby reducing the impact of such radiation.
Cellular telephones are often packaged with external speaker/microphone devices that allow for hands-free functionality. These devices are not always acceptable to the user. The devices often contain “ear-buds” that are uncomfortable and/or prone to disengaging with the ear and falling out, or otherwise of undesirable quality. As such, a variety of third-party products have been introduced to the market. Third-party products are produced with modified ear bud assemblies or headphones, and sometimes relocated microphones. Both wired and wireless (Bluetooth®) varieties are available.
There are three basic types of third-party devices available on the market. One type of device is a combination speaker/microphone unit connected wirelessly to the cellular telephone. A second type of device is a combination speaker/microphone unit connected to the cellular telephone using wires. A third type of device uses a wired configuration containing an integral microphone and headphone plug. This allows any standard headphone to be connected to the adapter cable, but has the drawback of requiring the use of the supplied microphone. This microphone may be inconvenient to the user due to its location along the adapter cable (including possibility of picking up excess background noise) or low quality.
A significant disadvantage of the available adapter cables is that they do not allow the use of third-party wired combination speaker/microphone units with standard, independent speaker and female phone jacks. These units are widely available for use in, among other things, communications via personal computer. Many users prefer specific devices due to comfort and functionality that suits their individual purposes. These devices cannot generally be connected to cellular telephones due to non-standard plug connections present on most models.
In particular, the Apple iPhone®, which has achieved enormous commercial success, uses a non-standard speaker/microphone female phone jack. No known adapters are available that provide standard female headphone jacks and microphone jacks to allow a standard combination speaker/microphone unit with independent male headphone and microphone plugs to be connected to an iPhone®.
Additionally, for certain sports and recreational activities where the user is in motion, many of the available devices are particularly problematic because the headsets may not be securely held in place, and free wires may snag on foreign objects such as tree branches in the vicinity of the user. In addition, microphone placement may be sub-optimal, even to the point of being non-functional, due to excessive wind noise or muffling due to the user's clothing blocking the microphone. Finally, while these devices are often equipped with remote buttons for answering incoming telephone calls, user interface with the button may be difficult due to the button's placement or configuration, especially if the user is wearing gloves or other clothing that may interfere with the operation. Answer buttons are typically very small, require a significant degree of dexterity to operate, and may even be difficult to locate in some circumstances. Due to operational difficulties, users of these devices may fail to answer incoming telephone calls that they wish to answer.
Certain devices adapted to specific sports or recreational activities have been developed to solve some of the above-mentioned issues. However, none of the presently known devices are universally adapted to a variety of non-related activities.
For instance, cold weather hats for use with, e.g. snow skiing, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,451 to Graham, have been fitted with headphones and are connectable to portable music players. These hats are not, however, fitted with microphones and may not be connectable to cellular telephones for two-way communication. These hats are typically manufactured with heavy fabric well-suited for cold weather sports but ill-suited for warm weather activities.
Also in the prior art are helmet systems with integrated communications. U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,256 to Steelman discloses a motorcycle helmet with a built-in speaker and microphone, whereby the rider and passenger may communicate with one another. These devices are permanently mounted to the interior of the motorcycle helmet, and thus may not be adapted to uses that do not require use of the helmet.
Other known devices may have wider application but present some operational difficulties for use with sports activities. U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,964 to Yang discloses an earphone arrangement comprising a band traversing the back of the head to hold the speakers in place, and a boom microphone. This device may be less comfortable or secure than desired by a user performing sports or recreational activities, and the microphone will likely function inadequately in windy conditions.
There are no known existing solutions to address the difficulties of the present cellular telephone call answer buttons. “Walkie-talkie” type buttons, such as that depicted in International Patent Publication No. WO/2004/107787 of Bataillard, are typically mounted to the body of the transceiver or to a remote speaker/microphone device wired back to the transceiver. These devices are not ideally suited for sports and recreation activities. They are relatively bulky, heavy, and expensive to produce. Additionally, they would be more difficult to operate than the slap switch described herein.
What is needed, therefore, is a universal headset device functional for a variety of sports and recreational activities. The headset, speaker, and microphone should be securely held in place, even while the user is in motion. The microphone should be placed in a position that will enhance the pickup response while limiting the interference from, e.g. wind or clothing. A breakaway connector between the cellular telephone and headset would prevent potentially dangerous or destructive snags on foreign objects and further provide the user with the ability to disengage the headset portion from the remaining components of the device. The headset itself would secure the earphones and microphone in place on the wearer's head comfortably even while wearing a helmet or other headgear over it. Additionally, an answer button in the style of a “slap switch” should be included to facilitate its operation even while the user is wearing, e.g. heavy gloves. Ideally, this headset would be suitable for both cold and warm weather activities. Moreover, the headset could also be used to listen to music since many modern cellular telephones are also portable music players.
Additional functionality would be realized by incorporating an adapter cable that would allow the user to connect independent headphones and microphones of their choice to their cellular telephone. The slap switch may also be incorporated into the adapter. A further benefit would be provided by supplying “patch” cables that allow the adapter to be connected to a variety of common cellular telephone models.
In conclusion, insofar as I am aware, no cellular telephone headset system exists that meets the above design criteria, particularly in the configurations disclosed herein.